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TheFutureofTheEnglishJ.B.Priestley1TowriteabouttheEnglishinstandardandcosmopolitanpoliticalterms,theusualLeft-Centre-Rightstuff,isalmostalwayswastingtimeandtrouble.TheEnglisharedifferent.TheEnglishareevenmoredifferentthantheythinktheyare,thoughnotmoredifferentthantheyfeeltheyare.Andwhattheyfeel—Englishnessagain-ismoreimportantthanwhattheythink.ItisinstinctivefeelingandnotrationalthoughtthatshapesandcoloursactualeventsinEngland.2Forexample,althoughtheEnglishseemtobesosharplydivided,alwaysindulginginplentyofloudpoliticalabuse,therearenothinglikesomanyCommunistsorneo-orpotentialFascistsinEnglandasthereareinmostothercountries.Again,althoughtheEnglishseemtohavemorethantheirshareofrallies,protestmarches,confrontationswithauthority,whatcouldbegintolooklikeamurderousencounterinFranceorAmerica,ormightbeabloodystreetbattleinJapan,wouldinEnglandendattheworstinafewscufflesandarrests.ThisisbecausetherearefewerfanaticalbelieversamongtheEnglish,andatthesametime,belowthenoisyarguments,theabuseandthequarrels,thereisareservoirofinstinctivefellow-feeling,notyetexhaustedthoughitmaynotbefillingup.Noteverybodycandrawonthatreservoir.NodoubtthereareinEnglandsomesnarlingshopstewardswhodemandfreedomfortheworkerswhenwhattheyreallywantistobringthewholesystemcrashingdown,togetherwitheveryguaranteeofliberty.NodoubttherearewealthyemployerswhosmileattheTVcamerasanddeclarethatalltheydesireisthefriendliestrelationwiththeirworkforce,whenathearttheywouldliketotakeawhiptothewholeidletroublesomemobofthem.Buttherearenotmanyofthesemen,eitherontheboardortheshopfloor,andtheyarecertainlynottypicalEnglish.SomecancerintheircharacterhaseatenawaytheirEnglishness.3TherealEnglish,whoare‘different’,whohaveinheritedEnglishnessandhavenotyetthrownawaytheirinheritance,cannotfeelathomeinthecontemporaryworld,representingtheaccelerateddevelopmentofourwholeage.Itdemandsbigness,andtheyaresuspiciousofbigness.(AndthereisnownotonlyIndustrialbigness;thereisalsoScientificbigness,needingmoreandmoretodiscoverlessandless.)Clearlyeverythingcannotbedonebysmallishandreasonablyhumanenterprises.Nocosyshipyardcanundertaketobuilda150,000-tonship,thoughwemaynotbeinourrightmindsifwewantsuchaship.ButitissafetosaythatwhileEnglishnessmayreluctantlyacceptbigness,itsmonstersareneverheartilywelcomed.TheylookallrightinAmerica,itselfsolarge,butseemaltogetheroutofscaleinEngland.Alongwiththedemandforbignessgoesademandforsevereefficiency,oftenquiterationalbutnotreasonable,thereforealientoEnglishness.Afurthernecessarydemand,tofeedthemonsterwithhigherandhigherfiguresandlargerandlargerprofits,isforenormousadvertisingcampaignsandbrigadesofrazor-keensalesmen.Finally,fromthemonsterandallitsspokesmencomesamessage,endlesslyrepeated.Itrunsmoreorlessasfollows:‘Yououghttobehappy.Butyouarenothappy.Youcanbehappy,though,ifyoubuywhatwearemakingforyou.’AndapostscriptmightbeaddedfromIago:‘Putmoneyinthypurse.’4Iliketocallthis‘Admass’,andwilldosofromnowon.IwillalsoannouncewhatthefutureoftheEnglishhangsupon,whileatthesametime,unlikealmosteverybodyelse,keepingwellclearofeconomics.IthangsuponthefinalresultofabattlethathasbeengoingonforsomeyearsnowandthatexplainswhytheEnglishseemsoodd,eccentric,unsatisfactory,notonlyabroadbuttomanypersonsathome.ItisabattlethatisbeingfoughtinthemindsoftheEnglish.Itisbetween'Admass',whichhasalreadyconqueredmostoftheWesternworld,and'Englishness',ailingandimpoverished,innopositiontoreceivevastsubsidiesofdollars,francs,deutschmarksandtherest,forpublicrelationsandadvertisingcampaigns.Thetriumphsof'Admass'canbeplainlyseen.Itoperatesintheoutervisibleworld,whereitoffersmoreandmorethings-formoreandmoremoneyofcourse-andcreatestheso-called‘GoodLife’.Againstthis,atleastsuperficially,'Englishness'seemsapoorshadowyshow-afaintpencilsketchbesideaposterinfullcolour-belongingasitreallydoestotheinvisibleinnerworld,merelyofferingstatesofmindinplaceofthatrichvarietyofthings.Butthenwhilethingsareimportant,statesofmindareevenmoreimportant.5Itiseasytounderstandwhythereshouldbethisconflictbetween'Admass'and'Englishness'.Whatiscentralto'Admass'istheproductionandconsumptionofgoods.Ifthereisenoughofthis—thoughofcoursethereneveris,becausedissatisfactionisbuiltinto'Admass'-therewillbesufficientmoneytopayforits‘GoodLife’.ButitisworthnotingalongthewaythatwhileAmericahasbeenformanyyearsthechiefadvocateof'Admass',Americahasshownustoomanydesperatelyworriedexecutivesdroppingintoearlygraves,toomanyexhaustedsalesmentakingrefugeinbarsandbreakinguptheirhomes,toomanyworkmensufferingfrommonotonyortime-and-motionstudiesandwonderinghowthehelltheygotintothesetraps.AndAmerica,toitscredit,canalsoshowusalotofsensiblemenandwomenwhohavedenouncedallthisandhavewalkedoutofit.ButthisbookisabouttheEnglish,nottheAmericans.Now'Englishness',withitsrelationtotheunconscious,itsdependenceuponinstinctandintuition,cannotbreakitslinkswiththepast:ithasdeeplongroots.Beingitselfastateofmind,itcannotignoreotherstatesofmindandcannothelpfeelingthat'Admass',withitsruthlesscompetitiveness,itsideaofmansimplyasaproducerandconsumer,itsdependenceupondissati